Out of the Blue
by Assela
Summary: Dramione, my first fic so please rate and comment! Post war Hogwarts, Hermione and Draco are head girl and boy.   *Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter*
1. Chapter 1

1

Hermione tipped the parchment envelope with Dumbledore's tidy, emerald green penmanship, letting its contents spill into the palm of her hand. A large brown barn owl had delivered their letters not moments before, and had already left, but not before Harry threw him a treat. She turned the object around in her fingertips, watching the soft light of Molly's immaculate kitchen glint brilliantly off of the tiny gold badge. It was embossed with Gryffindor's scarlet crest, as well as inlaid with a capital golden 'H,' displaying her new status as Head Girl at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione hummed in pleasure. She hadn't expected this, but was more than happy to accept the new responsibility.

"Bloody hell, would you look at this list of books? It's going to cost a fortune!" Hermione heard Ron exclaim across from her, rubbing the back of his head. "We'll manage," said Molly from the other end of the long table they were seated at. After noticing the badge Hermione held in her hand, Molly let out a shout, "Hermione! Oh, would you look at that! Congratulations, dear. Of course, we suspected you'd be made Head Girl. We're all very proud of you," she gushed, always a mother first and foremost, no matter the circumstance. Hermione smiled back while receiving congratulations from her three closest friends.

"Congratulations 'Mione!" Harry beamed, giving his friend a warm hug.

"Yeah, congrats!" Ron chimed in. Things had been a little awkward between them after their breakup, but Hermione thought Ron was handling it quite well, seeing as she had been the one to call it quits.

"Do you know what this means?" Ginny squealed from the other side of Harry, "You get your own dorm and common room and everything! I hope you won't mind frequent visits. Gryffindor tower just won't be the same without you there."

"Don't worry Gin, I'll make sure you know the password. You can visit anytime you like," Hermione laughed.

"Besides," stated Ron with a huge grin plastered across his features, "if she isn't in her commons, you can always go looking for her in the library, she'll more than likely be there." Hermione punched him in the arm playfully, as he feigned a look of hurt. "Oh no," Ron stated suddenly, looking panic stricken, "what about our homework?" he asked, looking over to Harry for support, "who is going to look over it all? How am I going to pass potions," he and Harry groaned in unison.

"Well," Hermione stated, staring at Ron pointedly, "you can always come and find me in the _library_ Ronald. Besides, maybe you two will even start doing your work early, instead of leaving it until the night before as is normally the case without me there to help you!" Hermione giggled good-naturedly.

"We'll pick up your things from Diagon Alley first thing tomorrow," Molly announced, shaking her head, "now off to bed with you. If I find that any of you have slept in tomorrow morning, I have no problem conjuring a bucket of water to wake you."

At this statement the four decided it best to climb the stairs to their respective rooms to turn in for the night. Ginny and Hermione lingered a little outside of their rooms, discussing what the following year had in store for them excitedly.

"I wonder who the Head Boy is!" Ginny said enthusiastically, "I bet it's Blaise, his grades are almost as high as yours 'Mione. I'll get an owl from him tomorrow I'm sure, and I'll tell you as soon as I find out." Ginny had been dating Blaise since the end of last year, and Hermione found that she rather liked the quiet Italian boy. Although he was placed in Slytherin house, he held none of the pureblood prejudice that his housemates often displayed. Personally, Hermione had no time for such rubbish, and had no problem saying so. Mulling it over, Hermione decided that sharing a common room with Blaise wouldn't be a bad thing at all. They weren't what she would call 'good friends' by any means, but she found that she enjoyed his somber company, being paired with him multiple times in advanced Arithmancy, and she respected his intelligence. Besides, not only would living with a Slytherin be an excellent step toward house unity in her seventh year, but she'd see a lot more of Ginny as well if she could visit both her and Blaise at once.

"Excellent," Hermione concluded, "tell me as soon as you know! It would be great to be able to see you that much more. I know it's going to be difficult now that we won't be sharing the same common room."

Ginny smiled, "that would definitely make things easier." With that, the two girls swiftly said their goodnights and beat a hasty retreat to bed after hearing an annoyed Mrs. Weasley call to them from downstairs.

.~-~*~-~.

The next morning Hermione woke with a smile, remembering the badge she had received the night before, and rolled over to stare at it sitting on the bedside table. This was going to be a good year, she could already tell. Dragging herself out of bed, Hermione donned her robe, grabbed her bag of toiletries and headed for the shower. Closing the bathroom door quietly behind her (she knew the boys would still be sleeping, always waiting until the very last minute to get out of bed). _Maybe__Molly__will__have__reason__for__that__bucket__of__water__after__all_, Hermione giggled to herself, locking the door behind her. Setting her bag on the counter, she chose her favorite vanilla scented body wash and grabbed her shampoo, setting them on the ledge of the big bathtub. She slipped out of her robe and pajamas, and turned the tap on, letting the water fall for a few minutes, trailing her hand through the cascade of warm liquid, ensuring the temperature was just right. Once satisfied, she climbed into the shower, letting the water stream down her back in hot rivulets. Showers were always a relaxing way to start the day. After wetting her hair, Hermione lathered some shampoo in the palms of her hands and began massaging it into her scalp. Having rinsed the suds out of her now clean hair, Hermione reached for her body wash and began soaping herself down thoroughly. The warm water felt so good on her tired muscles that she didn't want to leave the shower, but decided it would be a nice gesture to help Molly with breakfast, thanking her for her hospitality in her own little way. Hermione sighed to herself and turned the tap off, reaching for one of the fluffy towels that hung on a rack next to the bathtub. By the time Hermione had finished brushing her teeth, dressing and pulling her hair into a messy ponytail after muttering the smoothing charm she used to tame her curls, she could already smell the beginnings of breakfast coming from downstairs. With a last glance in the mirror, Hermione exited the bathroom and went to help Mrs. Weasley with the morning meal.

Just as she had suspected, Harry and Ron came clambouring down the stairs at the last possible minute having already missed breakfast, only to meet an infuriated Mrs. Weasley standing hands on hips at the bottom of the staircase. Ginny and Hermione giggled to each other as they watched the pair get an earful.

"So have you heard anything from Blaise?" Hermione asked as she sipped at her tea. Chamomile was her favorite, and it didn't feel like a proper morning without it, much like her muggle parents with their coffee.

"Not yet," said Ginny, "I doubt he'd be awake this early anyway. He's almost as bad as those two," she tilted her head, indicating the two boys trapped at the bottom of the staircase.

.~-~*~-~.

Diagon alley was a mass of students doing their last minute shopping before classes began. Having already purchased their necessities such as new parchment and quills, and Harry a new cage and some treats for Hedwig, the large group of mostly red heads headed to Flourish and Blotts to search for their textbooks. Upon entering the little store, Hermione was overwhelmed by the crowd and opted to make a beeline for the section holding the textbooks for advanced Potions, Runes and Arithmancy, which wasn't nearly as densely populated as the rest of the store, after hurriedly alerting Ginny to where she would be. Walking into the isle Hermione felt calm flood through her as she was surrounded by the books towering above her on either side. Searching first for her Arithmancy book, Hermione leaned down to read the tiny script indicating the title of a rather large leather-bound volume. _Advanced__Arithmancy_, Hermione read, pulling the tomb off of the shelf, and balancing its surprising weight in one arm.

"Granger?" she heard a familiar voice drawl from behind her, "what are you doing all the way over here? Shouldn't you be helping Potter and the Weaselbee find their books? They can't seem to tie their own shoelaces without you there to bark out instructions."

"I could ask you the same question _Malfoy_," Hermione glared, "what are _you_ doing all the way over here? This is where they keep the advanced texts, I believe the section you are looking for is Children's Literature, I hear the _The__Tales__of__Beadle__the__Bard_ is a particularly good read, and is well suited for someone of your maturity." _Boy,_ Hermione thought,_I__don__'__t__care__if__he__switched__sides__during__the__war,__for__someone__who__has__claimed__to__change__his__views__so__drastically,__Malfoy__is__sure__still__an__insufferable__git._

"Ha-ha Granger. Actually I'm here for my school texts as well. I'm second in our class next to you. The intolerable know-it-all that you are."

Finding her Advanced Runes text, Hermione slid it off of the shelf and into her arms with the other volume while calling over her shoulder, "Sod off Malfoy. I'd like to spend the remainder of my summer unsullied by your presence. I get enough of you're rubbish at school. Now let me find my Potions text in peace." Hermione finally spotted the volume on the shelf above her and reached up to claim it, the tips of her fingers just grazing the spine, even on her tiptoes. Not able to reach, she huffed in frustration.

"You mean this?" Malfoy stated plainly, reaching above her outstretched hand and grabbing her a copy of Advanced Potions off of the shelf above them, keeping a copy for himself as well. "Looks like I'll be seeing you in class then. See you around Granger." And with that he turned and marched out of the row of books.

_That__was__weird_, thought Hermione,_did__he__actually__do__me__a__**favour**__?__**Malfoy?**__Being__**nice**__?__What__was__Malfoy__playing__at?_ Hermione shook off her surprise and walked back to find the rest of the group. This wasn't a hard task, as she easily saw Ron's red head towering above the crowd like a beacon. After purchasing her books and a few other last minute items, Hermione headed back to the Burrow with the Weasleys and their entourage.

.~-~*~-~.

After dinner Hermione sat in her room, examining her new texts, and decided to get ahead on a little reading before classes began. Just as she opened her copy of Advanced Runes, Ginny rushed hurriedly into her room.

"Blaise just sent me his owl!" she exclaimed excitedly, while unrolling the parchment. She scanned the contents of his letter and sighed sadly. "Sorry 'Mione, looks like he isn't Head Boy, some other prat beat him out for the spot."

A little disappointed, Hermione smiled at Ginny, "no worries Gin, we'll still be seeing lots of each other! I promise. Besides, Harry and your brother are still going to need my help with their schoolwork, I'm sure I'll be in Gryffindor tower often."

Ginny smiled back at her friend, "I'll hold you to it," she beamed, and left Hermione to her reading, closing the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Hermione watched as the smoke billowed out of the scarlet steam engine she had grown so accustomed to over the past seven years. As much as she loved her own family, Hogwarts was the one place in the world where she felt she belonged, and could really call 'home.' She turned around to search through the bustling crowd for Harry, Ron and Ginny who had all entered through the barrier of Platform 9 ¾ after her. Harry and Ron had always been rather skittish when passing through the brick wall after the Dobby incident of their second year. Upon finding the small group led by Molly and Arthur Weasley, Hermione said her goodbyes, giving each parent a big hug before explaining that she must hurry to the heads' compartment at the front of the train to meet with Dumbledore, where the two heads would be given a list of their duties, as was outlined in his letter. This done, Hermione headed toward the front of the train, pulling the cart that carried her school trunk behind her, but not before promising Ginny to find them on the train as soon as her duties as Head Girl were done.

Hermione found the compartment in question without much trouble. She slid the panel door back easily, and entered with her trunk in tow. _Hmm,_Hermione thought after noticing that the compartment was empty, _he__hasn__'__t__arrived__yet.__It__better__not__be__some__Slytherin__git.__The__last__thing__I__need__while__studying__for__my__NEWTS__is__to__have__to__share__a__common__room__with__a__self-righteous__jerk__obsessed__with__blood-purity._With that thought and a frown of concentration marring her features, Hermione began hoisting her trunk up to put it on the compartment's overhead rack. Standing on tiptoes, Hermione was still having great difficulty with this task, and as such, didn't hear the panel door slide open and closed again.

"Need some help with that?" she heard a disturbingly familiar voice drawl from behind her as a pair of strong arms lifted the trunk out of her hands and set it on the rack easily.

"Thanks, so much," Hermione smiled, turning around, "I couldn't reach the-" and she froze suddenly, mouth agape. She hadn't realized who the voice belonged to at first, but as soon as she saw a shock of platinum blonde hair towering over her, Hermione knew she was in trouble. She stared in disbelief at the newcomer, and her gaze fixed on the glistening silver and green badge pinned on his robes engraved with a capital 'H' that mirrored her own.

"Attempting to learn the fine art of fly catching now, are we Granger?" he drawled, and Hermione clamped her mouth shut furiously.

"_MALFOY?__" _she cried incredulously, "_you__'__re_Head Boy?" She couldn't believe it. _How__could__Dumbledore__do__this__to__me?_The words ran quickly through her mind, _Draco__**SODDING**__Malfoy__the__Head__Boy?__How__am__I__supposed__to__live__in__the__same__space__as__him?__I__'__ll__go__mad__by__the__end__of__the__first__week._Sure, Malfoy had _said_ he had denounced the pureblood beliefs his tyrannous father imposed on his family as soon as Lucius had been imprisoned in Azkaban after the war. Once the Auror's finally found him in hiding, Narcissa felt it safe to reveal her husband's domination of the lives of both her and their son. But how could Hermione trust him? He was still Malfoy. The same Malfoy who had called her a mudblood for six consecutive years, who had tortured her and all of her friends at every possible opportunity, and who had been responsible for the near-death of the innocent Hippogriff, Buckbeak, in their third year, the latter resulting in a black eye for the blonde, compliments of Hermione herself, she recalled with a grin.

"Expecting someone else?" Draco asked, feigning mock hurt, "I would have thought the 'smartest witch of our age' could have made an educated guess at the very _least_ as to who would be joining her as head boy. As I told you before, I'm second in our class. Really, who were you expecting? Weaselbee? I'm sure the perfect little couple would have just _loved_ sharing living quarters."

"Actually," Hermione stated matter-of-factly, "Ronald and I aren't together." She wasn't sure why she felt the need to divulge any of her private matters to the ferret, but if they were going to be living together for the remainder of the year, she decided it would be best if they could come to the agreement to at least be civil to one another, in order to save themselves some misery.

"Really?" Malfoy asked, clearly taken aback, "I'm sorry Granger, I didn't know."

"What did you say?" Hermione questioned, clearly not used to a civilly tongued Draco Malfoy. He hadn't moved from where he had stood to help her with her trunk, and was standing entirely too close, Hermione now realized. She looked up at him in shock, and their eyes locked.

"I said I was sorry to hear about you and the Weasel," he replied evenly, still unmoving. Hermione was still having trouble registering the fact that Draco Malfoy was being _nice._ Then she remembered something.

"Well… thank you, Malfoy, and… thanks for the help with my trunk as well. As I'm sure you've noticed, height isn't exactly my strong suit," she laughed a little awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it Granger," he replied, finally moving away to sit on the bench across from her, "if you need any help getting it down, just let me know," he finished, retrieving a book from his own trunk and beginning to flip through its pages.

Hermione nodded slowly, still not entirely comprehending this sudden change of attitude, and plopped herself down on her own bench. She looked over at Malfoy incredulously. _He__must__be__setting__me__up__for__some__cruel__joke,_ she thought,_there__is__no__way__he__could__have__changed__this__drastically__over__one__summer._As she stared at the blonde, she realized that he really wasn't all that bad looking. Although it was still almost a bleached colour, as always, he had let his hair grow longer, so that the shaggy fringe of his bangs just reached his eyes, causing him to smooth it back with one hand periodically. He had even given up on the slicked back look, much to Hermione's relief, and his hair now fell loosely, framing his face. He had really filled out over the summer. Hermione chalked this up to long hours of quidditch practice, honing his skills as Slytherin's seeker in the hopes of finally beating Harry in their final year. His shoulders were broader, and she watched as the muscles in his forearms rippled slightly below his skin as he turned a page. For someone with such an ugly personality, Draco Malfoy was definitely easy to look at. When he wasn't sneering at you anyways.

"See something you like?" Draco chuckled from across the compartment. Hermione's head jolted up to meet his gaze. He had great eyes. They were like two twin pools of molten silver, and seemed entirely bottomless. As she got a better look at his face, she noticed with a frown the dark circles beneath them, seeming so out of place against his flawless porcelain skin.

"Sorry," she said hurriedly, blushing slightly, "I just spaced out is all." She thought she would die of embarrassment.

"Of course," Malfoy replied, still chuckling. To Hermione's immense relief, Dumbledore chose this moment to enter their compartment, his blue eyes twinkling beneath his half-moon glasses.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore greeted the pair, nodding his head and smiling at each in turn, "before we get down to business, allow me to offer you my congratulations. You have both been model students with exceptional grades in all classes, and this among other things is why you have been chosen for such a responsibility. I would like to make it clear from the very beginning, that any uncouth behavior, or animosity shown toward each other, which may have bubbled over from past years will not be tolerated, and that House Unity is my primary aim for the upcoming year. Since the war is now over, it seems appropriate to me that the students of Hogwarts overcome the barriers that have been in place between houses since the school's founding, and as such, I expect the two of you to set a prime example as good role models for your fellow students." He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out two pieces of parchment, handing them to Draco and Hermione in turn. "That being said, here is a list of your duties. You can discuss them at length once you are settled into your new quarters, but for now, I need you to patrol the compartments, and make sure that everyone has changed into their school robes, as we will be arriving shortly. After this is completed you are free to find your friends and enjoy their company for the remainder of the ride. Once we arrive, I would request that you return to this compartment, and together with Hagrid make sure the first years all make it to the boats waiting to take them to the castle. Any questions?"

Hermione looked over at Draco, and seeing him nod pointedly in her direction, she shook her head, "no professor."

"Very well," Dumbledore said amicably, "I will see the two of you at the feast." And with a swish of his robes, he left their compartment.

"Alright Granger," Malfoy stated, standing up from his position on the bench and smiling over at her, "you take the front of the train and I'll take the back?"

"Sure," Hermione agreed slowly, still a little skeptical at his sudden change in attitude.

"Alright, I'll meet you back here when we get to Hogwarts," and with that, Draco left a confounded Hermione alone in the compartment. _Where__does__he__get__off?_ She asked herself silently. _If__this__turns__out__to__be__some__elaborate__joke,__I__swear__I__'__ll__hex__him__back__to__the__Dark__Ages._ And with that, she too left the apartment and began her rounds.

.~-~*~-~.

Upon finishing, Hermione finally opened the door to the compartment containing her three closest friends, along with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom.

"Hermione!" Neville greeted her cheerfully from his seat by the window.

"Oh, hello Hermione!" Luna said warmly, looking up from the latest copy of The Quibbler, "I trust you had a nice summer?"

"Definitely," Hermione replied, flopping down onto the bench across from her, next to Ginny.

"So?" Ginny cut in excitedly, "who is he?"

"Who is who?" Hermione asked, confused.

"The Head Boy!" she replied hurriedly, "I thought you'd be bursting with the news!"

"Oh!" Hermione said as she finally understood what the red head had meant, "you are never going to believe this."

"Well spit it out!" Ginny replied impatiently, "I've been waiting the whole ride to find out!"

Hermione hesitated momentarily before responding, "it's Malfoy."

"WHAT?" her five friends shouted in perfect unison.

"That's not funny 'Mione," Ron stated, "you actually had me going for a second there."

"I'm not kidding Ron, believe me, I'm just as happy about it as you are."

"What the bloody hell was Dumbledore thinking?" Ron questioned loudly.

"Well, considering the past year, I'd have to say it would be to bring the students together," Luna replied in her soft voice.

"That's exactly the reason," Hermione agreed, "he said it is to promote House Unity in the upcoming year."

"I don't care what he said, if he chose _Malfoy_ for Head Boy he's got to be a few sickles short of a full vault, if you know what I mean," Ron countered loudly, tapping his head.

"I dunno," replied Harry, "it may not actually be a bad idea."

"You can't be serious," Ginny stated from Hermione's side.

"Well House Unity is a great idea after all of the chaos last year, I mean, I'm sorry you've got to share your quarters with him 'Mione, but it really is a good plan," he replied.

Hermione looked at her watch, "well, I have to go back to the Heads' compartment so Malfoy and I can lead the first years to the boats. I'll see you all at the feast!"

"Good luck 'Mione, you're going to need it," Ron stated as she slid the compartment door closed. She still had lots of time before they reached the Castle, but Hermione hated being late, and so thought it best to head back to the compartment early.

Upon entering Hermione found that Draco was already seated on his bench, reading once again. As he heard the door slide shut, he looked up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised.

"This is the Heads' compartment," he retorted, "I'm Head Boy."

"I know that," Hermione responded, a little heatedly, "I meant why are you back so early? Sick of Parkinson hanging off of you?"

"For your information Granger, I just felt like doing a bit of reading," he replied, annoyed. _Ah,_ _**there**__**'**__**s**__the__real__Malfoy,_ Hermione thought to herself. But then he added, almost amicably, as if he had regretted his sudden lapse, "I've got to get ahead if I want to beat you out for head of our class this year you know." _What__is__going__on?_Hermione continued her inner dialogue, _that__was__almost__a__compliment__… __sort__of._

"I'll take that as a compliment," Hermione decided as she sat herself down across from him.

Malfoy chuckled good-naturedly, "you can take it however you like, but I'm still going to beat you out this year."

Hermione looked up and met his gaze defiantly, "challenge accepted," she responded with vigor, as they felt the train grind to a halt. "We should probably meet Dumbledore outside of the first years' compartments," she added.

Draco got up and retrieved his trunk from the overhead rack, replacing his book inside. Hermione turned around on tiptoe to follow suit, when she felt Draco move in close behind her, reaching up and lifting her trunk down for her. "Thanks," Hermione said in a small voice. He was still standing very close to her.

"Don't mention it," he replied, "I'll meet you outside." And with that he left the compartment, levitating his trunk ahead of him.

_Why__didn__'__t__I__think__of__that,_ Hermione internally chided herself, and cast a quick 'wingardium leviosa,' following her trunk outside.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Hermione looked around her at the red, blue, yellow and green decorations adorning the Great Hall and showing off each house's respective crest in celebration of the new school year, and couldn't help but smile. She had missed the Hall's floating candles and enchanted ceiling, which currently displayed a clear night with stars sprinkled across the sky. She was finally home. It had taken her and Draco a great deal longer than she had expected to help Hagrid usher the first years into the waiting boats to cross the lake to the castle, and her stomach growled hungrily as the sorting ceremony took place, each house cheering raucously every time a first year was sorted into their house. Although Hermione clapped along with the rest of her house with every newcomer, she found her mind straying back to the way Draco had helped the first years earlier. Not only had he been _nice_ to them, even the ones who were clearly not cut out to be in Slytherin house, but he was also sympathetic to their obvious fear and anxiety, which one could almost feel hanging in the atmosphere around them. She remembered watching as he talked kindly to any first year he came into contact with, offering words of encouragement with a smile, and helping them into their boats. Although she would never admit it, Hermione was impressed. _Maybe__he__isn__'__t__such__a__bad__choice__for__Head__Boy__after__all,_she admitted to herself. Hermione was jerked out of her reverie as Dumbledore stood up and the Great Hall instantly went silent.

Dumbledore pointed his wand to his throat, magically charming his voice louder, in order for all to hear. "Welcome students," she heard his voice boom around the big room, "to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I will try to keep this as short as possible, as I am sure you are all hungry." At this, Hermione's stomach growled loudly, as if in agreeance. "As always, the forest is forbidden to all students who do not wish to suffer a terrible and painful death, (at this the first years glanced around at each other, sharing looks of trepidation) and Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that students are not allowed out of their dormitories after hours. After the feast is over, your prefects will lead you each to your respective dormitories, where you will find your belongings have already been placed with your class timetables. Classes begin tomorrow morning. And without further ado, tuck in!" With this final statement, the plates that up until this point had sat empty on the tables filled with food instantaneously, and the first years gasped in surprise and pleasure.

Hermione reached to pour herself a glass of pumpkin juice while talking to Ginny amicably between bites of her meal. She smiled over at Harry and Ron sitting across from them, and laughed as Ron tried to talk through a mouthful of potatoes. Merlin, how she had missed this place. It was in the safety of the warmth Great Hall and the friendly atmosphere of the feast that made Hermione realize that everything and everyone they had lost over the past few years had made this possible. Just having the ability to live safely, to go to school and learn, even to just talk with her friends made all of this loss and past pain and grief worth it.

"'Mione, did you even hear what I said?" Ginny asked a little huffily from beside her.

"Sorry Gin, I spaced out," Hermione laughed a little.

"That's okay," Ginny stated with a smile, and launched right back into whatever gossip she had been going on about through Hermione's revelation.

.~-~*~-~.

At length, the feast began to draw to a close, and Hermione's brain was instantly back in Head Girl mode. Dumbledore had instructed the heads to make their rounds to each of the prefects, ensuring that they each had the proper password to their respective common rooms (all of which the heads had access to), after which she and Draco were free to go and explore their new lodgings. With a sigh, Hermione explained this to her friends, and stood up from the table with a sympathetic look from Ginny.

"I'll meet you back here for breakfast in the morning," Hermione told Ginny, "but tonight, Malfoy and I have to go through all of our head duties," she and Ginny both pulled a look of disgust.

"Alright 'Mione. Good luck," Ginny replied, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before turning to join in conversation with Lavender and Parvati.

Rolling her eyes good-naturedly at her friend's penchant for gossip, Hermione turned toward the Slytherin table and was surprised to find that Malfoy wasn't seated with his regular entourage. Skimming over those seated, her eyes finally found the shock of platinum blonde that was his hair, seated at the far end. The only person with him was Blaise, Ginny's boyfriend. _Strange_, thought Hermione. Even Pansy Parkinson, who normally had herself draped over Malfoy at every possible opportunity, was sitting at the opposite end from him, chatting with the rest of his normal entourage, and shooting him the occasional dirty look. Hermione's eyes travelled back up the table to land on Malfoy and Blaise once again. Malfoy looked absolutely miserable. Gone was the aristocratic air with which he once held himself, gone was his perfect posture, instead, he was slumped over his plate, the picture of absolute misery, with what looked like Blaise attempting to coax a grin or even a laugh out him. Hermione felt a sudden pang of sadness for this shell of her once proud enemy.

Walking briskly toward the end of the table that Blaise and Draco occupied, Hermione ignored the sneers and taunts sent her way from Pansy and her cronies with her head held high. Upon her approach, Blaise was the first to look up from his attempted cheering of Draco, and shot her a winning smile.

"Hey Granger," he said fondly, "glancing over at the Gryffindor table and spotting his red-headed interest, who was shooting him a smile from behind Hermione, and grinning back. His look then returned to Hermione.

"Hey Zabini," she greeted him back in a friendly tone. As she glanced over at him, she realized that Draco still hadn't looked up from where he had been studying his empty plate. Blaise noticed the direction of her gaze and shook his head sadly.

"Umm… Malfoy?" Hermione asked hesitantly, and at this his head snapped up, her voice having broken his reverie. He looked at her and offered her a wan smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Granger," he acknowledged her quietly, "what brings you over to our end of the Great Hall?" he asked, noticing the jeers and taunts his housemates threw her way, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you enjoy having insults hurled at you. Have you not had your hero fix for the day? Feel the need to brave the danger of the Slytherin table?" At this last friendly taunt his eyes lit up slightly, Hermione noticed happily.

"Your housemates couldn't pose a threat to me if they tried," she jibed back, "all talk and no real threat. If I needed a fix, I hear the Hufflepuffs are a rowdy bunch." At this all three laughed amicably.

"How did you do that?" Blaise asked Hermione, "I've been trying to get a smile out of him all night with no luck." At this, Draco shot him a dirty look, before turning his attention back to Hermione and changing the subject abruptly.

"So why are you over here really?" Draco asked after a moment, his eyes now considerably brighter.

"Head duties," she stated matter-of-factly, and at this she thought she saw his expression drop a little, but he quickly masked the change. "The feast is almost over and we have to make sure all of the prefects have the correct passwords to their dormitories before we can explore our new rooms."

"Alright Granger," Draco drawled while standing up from the table, "let's get this over with, I want to see our lodgings." Hermione was a little taken aback by this curt response and Draco's sudden change in attitude, but she followed him around to all of the house tables anyways as the feast drew to a close, stopping to talk at each in turn. She glanced up at him periodically, but his face held no emotion, he had hidden it all away behind his porcelain mask. Hermione wondered at this, but held her tongue, inserting herself into conversation with the prefects instead.

.~-~*~-~.

After making their rounds, the pair headed out of the now near-empty Great Hall and headed to the marble staircase in silence. Dumbledore had given them directions to their new lodgings, which, to Hermione's pleasure, as it turned out were located in a tower, just like her Gryffindor common room. Walking through the Advanced Arithmancy hallway, still in complete and uncomfortable silence so thick Hermione thought it possible to cut through it with a severing charm, they mounted a moving staircase which was heading in the right direction, waiting for it to stop in the correct place.

"A tower room," Hermione broke the silence awkwardly, "that's going to be a big change from the dungeons you're used to. You might even see sunlight for a change," she prodded, smiling up at him slightly.

He looked down at her for a moment, contemplating something before responding, "you know Granger, I don't think I'm going to hate living with you this year." Hermione was completely taken by surprise at his revelation. This was quite possibly the nicest thing Malfoy had ever said to her, which was sad, really, but she was shocked into silence nonetheless. "Wow," Malfoy goaded after a moment of her staring at him, wide eyed and in silence, "had I known all it would take to shut you up was to pay you a slight compliment, I would have done it years ago." At this Hermione swatted his arm lightly, and he laughed softly.

"And you just had to ruin it with a comment," she huffed back at him, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh come on Hermione, I was just kidding," he said, sounding almost remorseful. Her head shot up in shock, and her eyes zeroed in on his, staring at him incredulously.

"What did you just call me?" she asked, her voice high-pitched with disbelief, as she studied his face closely.

"Your name," he shot back defensively, "I would have thought someone of your intelligence would be able to figure that out for yourself."

"Clearly," Hermione replied heatedly, "but you used my _first_ name Malfoy," he seemed to cringe slightly at her use of his last name, "what are you playing at?" she asked seriously.

"Look Granger, if you want to stay on a last name basis, that's fine with me, I just figured that since we are obviously going to have to see a lot of each other this year, we should at least _try_ to be friendly," his friendly demeanor had dropped as quickly as it had appeared. Hermione checked herself, reigning in her disbelief and chiding herself for snapping at him so quickly. They had actually been getting along well after all, and she had ruined it.

"Sorry Draco," she conceded, "that's fine with me. Living together will be much easier if we can do it on friendly terms." At her use of his first name, Draco's eyes softened, and he smiled down at her slightly. Not knowing why, his gaze made her slightly uncomfortable, and Hermione looked away quickly, looking ahead of them. Without realizing it, throughout their conversation the pair had somehow finished their ascent of the stairs, and had wandered through the hallway stopping in front of the Hogwart's school crest engraved in the stone wall that lead to their dormitories.

"Shall I?" Hermione asked, looking to Draco for his permission. With a slight nod of his head and gesture of his hand, Hermione turned back to the crest and spoke the password Dumbledore had given them. No sooner had the word 'unity' (a password very appropriate to Dumbledore's wishes for this coming year) cross her lips, than a section of the wall at least seven feet tall and three feet wide slid back in on itself, and moved to the side, allowing them entrance to their common room.

"After you," Draco gestured for Hermione to pass through before him.

"Umm… thanks," she replied slowly, and stepped inside, followed closely by the blonde.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Hermione stepped through the stone doorway leading to the heads' dormitories and was suddenly glued to the spot, mouth agape. She looked around and tried to take in the sight that greeted her. The tower room was at least half the size of Gryffindor's common room (quite a shock to Hermione as this space was only meant for the two Hogwarts heads), and had a very cheery atmosphere. Hermione's first glance was drawn over to the large brick fireplace embedded in the wall directly in front of the entrance on the other side of the tower room which was blazing cheerfully, the Hogwarts crest carved once again into the exposed brick above the mantelpiece. She noticed now that the circular room had two short staircases running up each side of it with a carved cherry wood banister, meeting at the top. As her eyes followed the lush dark red carpeting that covered them, she could see from her vantage point three large doors at the top of the balcony-like landing that was located one floor above the fireplace. The first door on the left had a large embossed metal plaque of the Gryffindor crest in full colour hung upon it, with a gold name plaque above it that read "Hermione Granger." The second door had no markings on it, and Hermione could only guess that is was the heads' bath. She was rather excited to see what that would be like, considering the amazing prefects' bath she had grown accustomed to. The final door on the right had two plaques hanging on it just as hers had, with the difference being that the larger of the two bore the Slytherin house crest in full colour, and the name plaque above it was silver and read "Draco Malfoy." Hermione's eyes were drawn back down to the main floor, where she noticed a large cherry wood table in the centre of the room with two large black armchairs and a couch situated on either side of it, all on top of a large push area rug. Hermione smiled ear to ear. This would definitely do quite nicely she thought to herself. Being head girl turned out to have its perks after all, even if she did have to share her accommodations with a Slytherin.

"Oi! Do you think you could let me in?" Hermione heard an amused voice state very close behind her. She jumped forwards in surprise from inside the doorway where she had been standing as she took in her impressive new accommodations.

"Oh!" she cried out a little surprised, "I'm sorry Malfoy."

"Zoning out already are we? And classes haven't even begun. Looks like beating you out academically won't be an issue at all for me this year," Malfoy grinned at her in good humour.

"Hmmph." Hermione sniffed indignantly. "I really hope you aren't serious Malfoy."

"It's Draco," he pointed out again a little annoyed, but his expression quickly changed back to one of amusement as his trademark smirk appeared across his lips, "and I'm dead serious." He grinned from ear to ear as he looked around, taking in their new accommodations, and taking note of all four house banners hung up two to each side of the fireplace. Dumbledore really was taking this house unity thing seriously this year, he thought.

Hermione watched as he looked around and found she couldn't help but smile at him. His eyes were utterly filled with glee and he looked like a child upon first noticing the presents under the tree Christmas morning. This was definitely a nice change from the defeated, sullen look she had witnessed painted across his face for the duration of the feast and sorting ceremony. She wondered silently at why Draco sat alone with Blaise at the Slytherin table, and why he no longer seemed welcome among his usual band of cronies.

"Just can't take your eyes off me today, can you?" she heard Draco taunt with absolute glee in his eyes, and Hermione felt herself redden. She hadn't realized she was still staring at him.

"For your information _Malfoy_, I was merely noting the fact that you seem a great deal happier than you did at the sorting feast. I'll make note in future not to show any signs of compassion in your presence," Hermione shot back rather embarrassed. Draco visibly flinched at her use of his last name, and his expression grew extremely sullen at the mention of his mood at dinner.

"My name is _Draco,_" he said half-heartedly after a few long seconds had passed, and Hermione almost felt her heart break at his tone of voice. _What__is__going__on__with__him?_Hermione wondered to herself, _Slytherin__'__s__Prince__is__acting__like__anything__but__the__arrogant__git__I__'__m__used__to._

"Sorry Draco," Hermione conceded after a moment's hesitation, "I'm just not used to it yet. We weren't exactly on a friendly first-name basis in past years."

"Don't worry about it Hermione," Draco seemed to perk up slightly at her use of his first name. An awkward silence came between them then, and Hermione realized how much she actually missed what easy conversation they had had while walking up to their lodgings.

After a few long moments had passed with neither party speaking, Draco broke the silence. "I'm sorry, you know," he said quietly, not looking up at her.

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione uttered, her voice a little high pitched in disbelief. There was no way Draco Malfoy was apologizing to a mudblood such as herself.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, looking up at her and slowly meeting her gaze, "for how I've acted in past years. My actions were entirely uncalled for, and I really hope that you can find it in yourself to forgive me eventually."

Hermione felt as though his mercurial gaze was boring through her and had to look away abruptly. She chose to look at the floor instead as her face reddened noticeably. She heard a slight chuckle at this and looked back up to see the blonde smiling slightly at her. "I – I don't know what to say Malf-Draco," Hermione caught herself, and she watched as his smile widened slightly, "I'm not sure I can forgive you just yet. You weren't exactly angelic. But, I will try to work towards that."

"I would like that very much," he replied, "Thank you for giving me a second chance Hermione."

Hermione still wasn't used to the sound of her first name coming from him, but she decided that she definitely liked hearing him say it. "Well, I'm going to go take a look at the other rooms," Hermione stated quickly as she started to move toward the staircase on her left.

"I call bathroom first!" Draco shouted suddenly as he shot past her, and ran up the stairs quickly.

"No fair!" Hermione shouted at him from below.

"You snooze you lose, love!" he shouted from above as she heard the bathroom door slam shut.

Hermione stood glued to the spot, eyes wide. _WHAT__did__he__just__call__me?_ _There__is__something__seriously__bonkers__with__this__new__Draco__Malfoy,_ she thought as she shook her head to herself and began her own ascent of the stairs. _That__punch__I__landed__him__in__third__year__must__have__rattled__his__brain,_ she giggled inwardly, and with that she reached the door to her bedroom. She stared smiling at her name engraved on the smaller of the two plaques and reached for the doorknob.

.~-~*~-~.

Upon entering her bedroom, Hermione was once again pleasantly surprised. A large canopied four-poster bed stood against the wall with sheets, bedspread and pillows all in black and Gryffindor-red, and was made beautifully. The red sheer curtains attached at the top canopy were drawn back and held to each post with red and gold tassels, and her trunk was already placed at the end of her bed. To her left was a large dresser with a mirror attached made of the same cherry wood that seemed to be a theme throughout their lodgings. To the right of her bed, there was a large bookshelf in the same wood backed against the wall, upon which her large collection of books had already been placed. Hermione smiled to herself, Dumbledore knew her too well. Next to this shelf was a large desk whose drawers were already outfitted with her spare ink and parchment, and a plush red velvet desk chair. Above this was a large window through which Hermione could send owls if needed. Hermione noticed another door set into the wall on her right, and decided that it must lead to the bathroom. She could hear water running and was rather annoyed that Draco had reached it before she did, so she decided to wake up early before breakfast the next day in order to take a nice long bath in what she was sure was an extraordinary bathtub.

Hermione yawned then and realized how tired she actually was. She unpacked her trunk quickly and threw on pajama shorts and a tank top, and climbed under the covers of her new bed. It was so comfortable she practically fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Hermione woke to the sight of the top of her new canopy bed, and smiled to herself. She was finally home. She loved her parents dearly, and enjoyed every second she spent with them, but after the war had all but destroyed her second home of Hogwarts, she grew to understand that the rift her magical abilities caused between their lives and lifestyles was too big to feel entirely comfortable in their muggle community. Hogwarts was her home. It was the one place in which she felt entirely comfortable. She belonged here. The rebuilding effort on the castle that they had struggled to complete before the start of term was most definitely worth the back-breaking work, and the once proud walls stood again, welcoming the students back to the warmth, safety, and learning housed within.

Hermione allowed herself a few more moments to lay in the comfort of her warm, soft blankets, before swinging her legs over the side of her bed and sliding her feet quickly into her red and gold slippers before all of the warmth was leeched from them by the chilly morning air. She shivered slightly, and reached for her wand; she had set on her bedside table before falling asleep the night before. Casting a quick warming charm over herself, and making her bed with a quick flick of her wand, she grabbed her bathing kit from her trunk and headed for the door to the bathroom.

Opening the door that linked the bath to her bedroom, she was not disappointed by the sight that awaited her. The bath was enormous. At least three times the size that it looked on the outside, she remembered from her quick scan of the common room the heads shared the night before. She was sure that there must be some sort of reinvented undetectable extension charm cast on the space, and made a mental note to refer to her copy _Hogwarts:__A__History_ to find out just how it was done. The floors looked as if they were made of checkered marble tile, staggered white and black with emerald green flecks throughout. To her right, Hermione noticed the large cherry wood door that led into the bath from the balcony in the common room, and directly in front of her, the one that must lead to Malfoy, _No,__Draco__'__s_, bedroom, she mentally corrected herself. Moving over to the main door, Hermione locked it with a flick of her wand, and turned to take in her surroundings. Facing straight ahead, she got a beautiful view of a large stained glass window situated on the other side of the large room. The tower room faced east, she realized, noting the morning sunlight which slanted in through the rich colours, bathing marble floor in a bright pattern. The window depicted three mermaids, a blonde, red head, and brunette, all switching between swimming in a small sea inlet, and primping themselves while sitting on a rock which jutted over the edge of the water. _Narcissistic__bints._Hermione thought to herself, remembering the single mermaid that adorned the window in the prefects' bath, and her unwelcome penchant for making Hermione feel less than adequate in the looks department. She switched her train of thought abruptly and ignored the three giggling half-aquatic women, preferring instead to take in the sight of the gargantuan bathtub that was placed in the center of the room.

Bathtub was in no way a proper word to describe what Hermione saw in front of her. It was positively _huge,_ easily double the size of an in-ground pool, and perfectly square. The lip of the 'tub' was made of the black, green-specked marble tile used in the rest of the floor, and was the same colour until about a foot down, where it switched to white, covering the entire inside of the empty pool. Walking closer, Hermione noticed a dip in the black lip of the pool, in the very center of the side closest to her. She soon realized that this was the top of a small set of stairs one could use to walk down into the pool's depths. Skirting to the left hand side, Hermione walked over to the opposite end, closest to the stained glass mermaids, to take a closer look at the gold-headed taps that lined the lip of the tub. She counted thirteen taps in all, six smaller taps on each side of one much larger tap. Just as Hermione had guessed, this larger tap was the tap for water. Reaching out, she turned the golden knob on top and watched as water began to gush out. Adjusting it until she was satisfied with the temperature, Hermione's curiosity overcame her, and she decided to try out some of the other taps along the side. She found that four of the taps emitted bubble bath in different colours, four emitted different scents of bath oil, and the last four controlled jets on each side of the large pool. Hermione positively grinned at this last discovery, and turned them all on full force after deciding on a mixture of bubble bath and vanilla scented bath oil. As she let the bath fill with the mixture of water and scented bubbles, she took the time to take in the rest of the room. To the left of the window was a large shower area, all tiled in the same pattern, and she could see the large gold shower-head and taps through the glass of the door. _Excellent__for__hurried__mornings,_ she thought to herself, glad that she had the sense to get up a full hour before breakfast so she could enjoy a nice long bath. To the right of the window was a large mirror set over a deep sink basin, and to the right of that was a little door, leading to what Hermione could only guess was the toilet. By this time the bath had filled, and Hermione stripped of her pajamas, folding them neatly in a pile close to the end of the tub, and grabbed a fluffy white towel off of one of the racks lining the remainder of either wall. Testing the water with her toe from the top of the stairs leading into the pool, she tossed the towel by her discarded clothing and slipped into the mass of bubbles, inhaling the lovely scent of vanilla deeply. The water felt amazing, and she quickly dipped her head under, wetting her tangled mass of curls. Resurfacing, she decided to do a couple laps of the pool and glided into a perfect backstroke. The stretch in her arms and legs felt wonderful after a good night's sleep. Eventually she stopped at the lip of the tub where she had left her bathing kit, and grabbed her shampoo and body wash. She lathered the shampoo through her hair quickly and dunked her head under the water, rinsing it thoroughly. Resurfacing to catch her breath, she grabbed her body wash and soaped herself down. That done, she decided to float lazily around in the center of the pool until it was time to get ready to head down for breakfast. _This__is__MUCH__nicer__than__the__prefects__' __bath,_ she decided, grinning to herself.

Eventually, she looked about and noticed the bubbles beginning to disappear, and decided that she had better get out of the tub. With a sigh, she twisted the knobs that controlled the jets until they stopped. That is when she heard the doorknob turning. She spun around abruptly, focusing on Draco's bedroom door. _Shite,_ she thought to herself,_I__only__locked__the__main__door._She watched helplessly as the door opened slowly, frozen in terror on the spot, as a Draco Malfoy, clad only in a pair of emerald green boxers walked dazedly into the bathroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Grabbing a towel off of the rack closest to him, he turned toward Hermione, still heedless of her presence, and hooked two thumbs into the band of his boxer shorts. Once Hermione realized his intention to disrobe, she let out a petrified squeak, crossing her arms abruptly over her front in the process. Upon hearing the noise, Draco was pulled abruptly from his half-asleep state, and his head immediately snapped up, looking at Hermione, and taking in her state of undress. His face immediately turned a bright shade of red, and he froze to the spot, staring back at her _like__a__deer__caught__in__the__headlights_, Hermione thought later, quoting one of her parents' muggle sayings. They both stood like this for a few long seconds before Malfoy seemed to finally understand what had happened. His eyes seemed to bulge suddenly, his face went an even deeper shade of crimson, and he turned on his heel, facing the other direction. Hermione finally came to her senses.

"What are you doing in here?" Hermione shrieked at Draco's back.

"What does it look like?" he yelled back, still facing in the opposite direction, "trying to have a bloody bath before breakfast, that's what."

"Why didn't you knock?" she exclaimed.

"Why didn't you lock the door?" he threw back.

Neither said anything for a few more seconds, both completely mortified with the situation, and trying to think of a solution.

Malfoy clamped one hand tightly over his eyes, and turning around, tossed the towel in his free hand to the edge of the pool.

"Here," he offered, his face still a bright shade of red.

"Thanks," Hermione stated, "now don't look until I tell you."

She quickly swam to the edge of the pool and grabbed the towel, wrapping it around herself as she climbed the steps out of the bath.

"Okay," she stated, and Draco's hands dropped from his eyes.

"I… um…" he searched for words but found none. Hermione's shocked state had worn off by now however, and was quickly replaced with a feeling of extreme embarrassment. Her face turned a shade of red that rivaled that of Draco's.

"Just be thankful there were still bubbles in the pool," she shot at him heatedly, "or I would have-"

"Let me guess, hexed my naughty bits?" Malfoy retorted.

"Just- just _knock_ next time!" Hermione fumbled over the words, yelling them over her shoulder, walking quickly to grab her clothing and bath kit.

"Next time lock the door!" Malfoy shouted after her.

As she reached the door to her bedroom, she turned the knob, wrenched it open, and slammed it shut behind her. Hermione couldn't remember ever having been so humiliated in her life. She thought she would die of embarrassment. After a couple of minutes spent pulling herself together, she quickly changed into some clean robes, cast a quick smoothing charm to tame her unruly hair, and packed away her books, quills and spare parchment to head down for breakfast. She listened closely at the bathroom door for any noise, and hearing nothing, knocked twice and waited a moment before entering again. She rushed to the large basin by the mirror and brushed her teeth hurriedly, not wanting another encounter with Malfoy. Heading back to her room she grabbed her bag and marched into the common room. To her immense relief, Malfoy was nowhere in sight. She sighed wearily and exited the heads' dorms, slowly making her way downstairs. _What__a__way__to__start__the__year_, she thought to herself as she descended the last large staircase and walked toward the entrance to the great hall.


End file.
